Migrating to New Zealand

Aotearoa/New Zealand

Aotearoa/Middle Earth/New Zealand: the country with long, white clouds, is a fascinating place to wander and explore. Lucky me just happened to be given the opportunity to experience this clean and green world so, I want to share with you my journey from the start:

Stepping for the first time on New Zealand soil (July 11,2004), at Wellington Airport at the peak of the winter season was a bit of a shock for me in terms of temperature. I was born and raised in a tropical country with only two seasons--wet and dry. You see, when my husband David and I left my country of origin, the Philippines; the temperature was a sweltering 36 degrees centigrade. Knowing that it would be cold in our country of destination, I had on thicker-than-unusual clothing which I thought would be enough to keep me warm in a chilly temperature.  Never having left the Philippines before, I was not exposed to lower temperatures beyond 15 degrees centigrade which was the lowest temperature most of us, Filipinos had experienced in Baguio City. I had no idea how cold the temperature in New Zealand could get, specially during winter.

The cosy cottage

         When we stepped out of the plane, a low 10-degree-centigrade temperature complete with a really cold breeze that almost numbed my not-so-high nose welcomed me! I thanked God that  David was aware that my body, accustomed only to warm temperature might react differently to the extreme cold. So a warm, wooly jacket was waiting for me as we stepped inside his car. And yes, the vehicle's heater had also been turned on to keep me warm.

Remutaka Hill Road

   Enduring the twisty Remutaka Hill Road--with its summit of 555 meters above sea level,  for the first time was not that easy either.  After an hour travel by car, we arrived at David's cozy cottage in Featherston. Exhausted after a 13-hour-long airplane travel, we both had a good night sleep.

       Anyway, it was quite an experience because the night while we're both asleep,  the temperature dipped even further down to the freezing point!  My very first morning in a different country woke me up to an entirely strange surroundings. When I looked out the window, the green grass in the garden was covered in white frost! It was simply magical for me seeing everything around was covered with frost! Even the leaves of the trees and other plants which I saw for the first time, were not spared. They looked oh-so-burdened with the weight of the frost and gloomy with the very cold temperature.        

Green grass covered in white frost

Frost on the fence

    For someone like me who dreaded the cold, it was really amazing that I actually survived freezing point. You might be wondering how I managed. Well, I had three layers of warm clothing all the time, complete with super warm socks and guess what, I had befriended the firewood place; staying close to it most of the day. It had become to me an indispensable ally and companion, like oxygen to an asthmatic.

         This morning, while pounding on my computer keys to tell you all about my New Zealand initiation, the temperature was a low 3 degrees centigrade outside. Amazingly, the sun was shining bright, the skies were a clear, bright blue, while the grass and the leaves of the trees and other plants were glistening with the very slight frost of the previous night. The chilly temperature inside and out kept me inside the house snuggling in front of the fire inside the sofa bed of the living room. It was like the sun was warming and comforting every living beings--man, animals, plants and trees and reminding us all to give thanks for God's graces and blessing that spread for that day.

         Hey, it was the middle of winter and it meant more cold days ahead! Thank God, it looked like I could get on with it.